The year in viral: 2012′s best memes

Just over a year ago, in 2011, the Interwebs were caught in a war over how to pronounce viral sensations labeled “memes” (was it “Mimi” or “meme,” rhymes with “team”?). A year has passed and finally memes have moved past the pronunciation debacle (it’s “meme” as in “team”, by the way) and entered the viral market in full force.

This year brought us a bevy of memes for our procrastinating purposes. From “Texts from Hilary” to one “not impressed” Olympian, see our top six memes of 2012 below.

6) Grumpy Cat

How could we not start this list without the Internet’s most downtrodden feline? Tartar Sauce (which is Grumpy Cat’s real name; the politically incorrect “Tard” for short) became an Internet sensation after Arizona resident Tabatha Bundesen’s brother posted his sister’s cat’s picture on Reddit.

The photo viral and the cat became the Internet’s go-to for snarky, “I hate the world” comments. While Grumpy Cat arrived a little late to 2012′s meme party, the cat certainly left his pessimistic pawprint behind. Want more? Check out his blog here.

5) Ermahgerd

Sometimes vintage pictures come back to haunt us, other times, vintage pictures make the best of memes. “Ermahgerd” (pronounced like an angsty teen trying to say “oh my God” while wearing head gear) can thank Reddit for its viral rise after a user posted this photo on the site with the caption “Just a book owners smile…” Users of the site went meme-crazy and the rest, is history. Many, many versions of the meme exist beyond the original vintage picture. Our favorite? A cat posed against a pile of Fancy Feast cat food with the caption “Ermahgerd Ferncer Ferst.” (You have to see it.)

4) Botched “Ecce Homo” painting

What started as a simple art restoration project for Spaniard Cecilia Giménez quickly turned into one of the Internet’s most memorable moments after Giménez’ work on the famous “ecce homo” looked a little…err…different than the original. Authorities in Borja, Spain, originally believed that vandalism was to blame, but Giménez admitted to attempting to restore the painting on her own. Internet trolls alike turned Giménez’ restoration into a meme by inserting her work into other famous pieces of art like “The Mona Lisa” and “The Scream.”

3) McKayla Maroney is NOT impressed

Admit it, McKayla Maroney is the best thing to come from the Summer Olympic Games since Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals. Maroney may not have the biggest medal count to her name, but she certainly took home the meme-gold for her now iconic “not-impressed” scowl. After taking silver in the individual vault competition in London, an event Maroney totally should have won was favored in, Maroney spent her time on the second tallest podium showing the nation just how to act when you’re clearly “not impressed” with certain results. How far did the meme reach? All the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as Maroney and President Obama were caught striking the “not impressed” pose at the White House in November.

2) Texts from Hilary

We don’t like to get too political here on the Whatever Blog, but when a meme sprouts up overnight showing Secretary of State Hilary Clinton looking all types of diva, we can’t resist. “Text from Hilary” came from a single topic blog on Tumblr that utilized a Reuters photo of Madam Secretary on her way to Libya. The bloggers juxtaposed Hilary texting notables ranging from Lady Gaga to Meryl Streep. Of course, in true meme fashion, the end product always had Hilary on top of the exchange. Bravo, Tumblr, bravo.

1) Ridiculously Photogenic Guy

Zeddie Little probably had no idea that a candid photo taken of him while running the 2012 Cooper River Bridge Run marathon would be become the year’s biggest meme, but who really can predict how memes come to be? Little made national news after the photo of him looking too good during the marathon went viral and the Internet’s infatuation with him grew. The standard meme involving Zeddie shows the now-famous pictures with captions like “Runs marathon and wins….my heart.” 2012 was definitely the year of Zeddie.

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